Cornelio, Chaparro lead Rochester to 5-0 shutout over Lehigh Valley

Andrés Chaparro gave Rochester the difference-maker it needed, and Riley Cornelio supplied the shutdown start behind him as the Red Wings beat Lehigh Valley 5-0 on Saturday night at ESL Ballpark. The win capped Rochester’s fourth series victory of the season and pushed the club a season-high four games over .500, a sign that this run is turning into something more substantial than a hot stretch.

The night did not begin cleanly. A 32-minute rain delay pushed first pitch to 7:17 p.m. in front of 6,493 fans, with a 10 mph wind blowing out to left field, but Rochester wasted no time making the conditions work for it. Chaparro put the Red Wings on the board in the first inning with an RBI double, then came back later to finish the job with the kind of swing that changes a game and travels well beyond one box score. His sixth homer of the season left the bat at 103 mph and carried 402 feet, part of a three-run sixth inning that opened the score to 4-0.

Cornelio made that lead stand up. The right-hander allowed just one hit over 6.2 scoreless innings, walked five and struck out seven to improve to 5-1. He entered the game tied for the International League lead in wins with five, ranked second with 52 strikeouts and sat sixth with a 3.11 ERA after the outing, a profile that now reads like one of the more reliable arms in the league. Once Cornelio handed the game over, the bullpen completed the shutout and kept Lehigh Valley from finding even a late crack in the door.

Chaparro finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and four RBI, accounting for four of Rochester’s five runs. Christian Franklin helped set the table, Harry Ford and Yohandy Morales reached base, and Robert Hassell III and Andrew Pinckney helped extend the inning before Pinckney finished it with an RBI fielder’s choice in the eighth. Rochester has now won seven of its last eight games, and after taking Friday’s game 3-2 as well, the Red Wings left the series with proof they can win in different ways, through power, through pitching, and through a clean defensive night that never let Lehigh Valley back into the game. Sunday’s finale was scheduled for 1:05 p.m., with Chuck King set to start for Lehigh Valley against Luis Perales for Rochester.